Ratchet & Clank: Bounty Hunter: Vol II
by Saij McCloud
Summary: Six months after the events of Bounty Hunter Vol I, Ratchet, Clank, and their new friend, Soara, discover that the Echelon Bounty hunters are back, and they want revenge.
1. Chapter 1

Just to let you know, this is meant to be a side story. Much like Quest for Booty and Full Frontal Assault. Shorter, not as important, but leading up to something bigger. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Chapter I

A thick cloud of dust rolled, obscuring all in sight. All that could be heard were the bangs of blaster fire and explosions. A fierce battle plagued this desert planet. Ratchet was running through the think dust cloud with one hand in front of his face. Whenever he saw a faint light, indicating an enemy was in sight, he aimed his blaster and fired, taking down his enemy. His good friend, Clank was, as usual, strapped to ratchet's back. As Ratchet ran on, another robot jumped out in front of ratchet, firing at him. Ratchet dodged by rolling sideways, then firing his own blaster until the robot exploded. "Ratchet to Talwyn." Ratchet spoke into his com-watch. "What's you're ETA?" A moment past, then the voice of ratchet's girlfriend, Talwyn Apogee, responded through the watch. "Talwyn here." She responded. "I'm afraid Kronk, Zepher and myself are unable to land our ships until the dust cloud clear before we can aid you." Another robot had stuck up to Ratchet through the cloud and punched him in the head with his fist, regaining his awareness, Ratchet pulled out his omniwrench, swinging it at the robot. With two strikes, he was successful at bringing the robot down. "By all means," Said Ratchet, breathing heavily from the dust and strain from fighting. "Take your time. Clank and I have everything under control down here."  
>"We'll be down as soon as we can." Came Talwyn's voice. "Just do me a favor and don't die." Ratchet chuckled. "Okay." He said. "No problem."<br>"You do actually plan on keeping that promise, right Ratchet?" Came Clank's voice from behind Ratchet's back. "Sorry, Clank old pal." Said Ratchet, reloading his blaster. "Death is not apart of the plan."  
>"Oh really?" Said Clank. "Then perhaps you might want to draw your attention to this rather large robot behind you." Ratchet swung around to where Clank had indicated, aiming his newly loaded blaster. Sure enough, there was a huge, brute-like robot, brandishing an axe at Ratchet. As it stomped closer to him, Ratchet prepared to fire. Before he could shoot down the brute, there was a blast from behind it. The brute froze for a moment, a terrorized look on it's face, then fell forward, dead. Once the brute fell, the cause of it's sudden death was revealed. The teenage Aqory, Soara had her blaster pointing exactly where the brute was standing. As she lowered her blaster, she winked one of her violet cat-slit eyes at Ratchet. "You're late." Was Ratchet's greeting. "And you're welcome." Said Soara, pocketing her blaster. "You know, when you said the natives here were revolting, I was expecting torches and pitchforks." Ratchet scratched the back of his head nervously. "Yeah, I may have under exaggerated on that one." He said. "Ah, you think?" Said Soara, smiling. "Very funny, Soara." Said Ratchet, hands on hips. "Look, Clank and I pretty much have everything under control on this end. Why don't you secure things to the North?" Soara gave Ratchet a mock salute before ramming her elbow into the gravity-pack strapped to her back. She then began to hover in the air, and took off over Ratchet's head. Flying away towards another group of enemy robots, Soara pulled out one blaster with each hand and started firing them both at the robots, taking one with each shot. She then rammed her elbow into her gravity-pack again to deactivate it, causing her to drop. She landed into a summer-sault and continued to fire until her blasters started clicking, announcing that she was out of ammo. Soara threw both blasters, one after the other at two separate robots knocking them over, then unsheathed her electro-sword, activated it, and started slicing down the remaining robots. "Show-off." Said Ratchet, who was watching Soara in the distance. "There's not gonna be anything left for Tal." Behind Ratchet, Clank saw the silhouette of another figure approaching through the dust. As it drew closer, it pulled out a blaster and aimed it at Rachet's head. "Ratchet!" Clank shouted. "Behind you!" Ratchet spun around just in time. Smacking the blaster out of his enemy's hand with his omniwrench, he then swept the legs out from under the enemy, knocking him down. Ratchet then pulled out his blaster and pointed at his enemy, but froze, see his face for the first time. "You!" Said Ratchet. Pinned under Ratchet's foot was the teenage Cazar boy, Reese Sagittarius, a member of Echelon, the group of bounty-hunters hired to kill Ratchet. Ratchet and Reese glared at each other a moment, before Ratchet prepared to fire his blaster. "Ratchet?!" Came Talwyn's voice from behind. Lowering his blaster, Ratchet looked over his shoulder to see Talwyn and her two robot friends, Kronk and Zepher running in his direction. Seeing Ratchet distracted, Reese shoved Ratchet's foot off his chest, then used his hands to push himself off the ground. He then elbowed Ratchet in the head, causing him to fall on his back on top of Clank. Reese was unable to finish his mission however, for as they drew closer and saw what was happening, Talwyn, Kronk and Zepher began to fire at Reese. Seeing that he was out numbered, Reese backed away from Ratchet, pulled a smoke-ball out of his pocket and threw it to the ground causing a cloud of smoke to swallow him up. When the smoke dissipated, Reese was gone. Talwayn ran over to Ratchet and helped him into a sitting position before giving him a large hug. "Ugh. Tal." Said Ratchet in a strained voice. "You're squishing me." Talwyn let go of Ratchet, who gasped for breath when she let go. "Sorry." She said. Clank fell off of Ratchet's back with a clang, landing flat on his face. Kronk picked Clank up out of the dirt and dusted him off. "You alright there, rookies?" He asked. "You gave us a good scare there." "I'll say." Said Talwyn. "Who was that anyway?" "He was another Echelon bounty-hunter that we had encountered back on Vitholon." Said Clank as Kronk set him down. "Echelon?!" Said Talwyn, pulling Ratchet to his feet with one hand. "That group that Soara was hired to KILL you and Ratchet? Is she trying to get her friends to finish her-"<br>"Hold on there, Tal." Said Ratchet, defending Soara. "I don't think Soara has anything to do with this. She's no longer-"  
>"Oh look. Speak'n of the devil." Said Zepher, looking in the sky. Everyone looked in the direction Zepher had indicated and saw Soara flying in their direction and drop down just a couple of feet away. "Well I don't know about you guys." She said, sheathing her sword. "But I think the invasion looks like it's reached it's peak." She looked up to see the others staring at her oddly, Talwyn, Kronk and Zepher glaring at her. "Did I miss something?" Said Soara, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, I'll say!" Said Talwyn, stomping over to Soara with a finger pointed at her. "Where have you been?!" Soara pushed Talwyn's finger away. "Nice to see you again TOO, Talwyn!" She said snidely. Ever since the two had met, after Soara escaped Vitholon with Ratchet and Clank, they had been quarrelling ceaselessly. And Talwyn had good reason to hate Soara, seeing as that she had tried on numerous occasions to kill Ratchet. "And, for your information, I have been slicing robots all over this God-forsaken desert rock all day, while YOU and your nanny-bots have been all happy-go-lucky in your space-cruisers!" Ratchet put himself between Talwyn and Soara in an attempt to break them apart. "Woah, now let's take it easy here." He said "There's no need to-" Talwyn pushed Ratchet out of the way before continuing her argument with Soara. "Oh yeah?!" She said. "And then I suppose you had nothing to do with your boyfriend's COINCIDENTAL appearance!"<br>"What are you talking about?" Said Soara, annoyed. "It would appear that Echellon had known that Ratchet would be here assisting with the battle." Said Clank to Soara. Her look of anger that she was giving Talwyn faded. "What?!" She Said. She looked from Clank to Ratchet. "It was Reese." Said Ratchet. Soara turned away from the others, her hand covering her eyes. "I should have known this wasn't over." She said. "Some how they've escaped Vitholon, and now, not only do they want to finish what they have started." She turned back to face the others. "Now they are going to want revenge against us."  
>"Revenge?" Talwyn repeated. "Why would THEY want revenge? THEY'RE the one who tried to kill Ratchet."<br>"Well." Said Ratchet, scratching the back of his head. "We did kinda kill a couple of their bounty-hunters before stealing their ship and leaving them stranded."  
>"Including," Said Soara, glaring at Ratchet. "Reese's twin sister, Shawn. Which would explain-"<br>"Hey, that wasn't my fault." Said Ratchet defensively, pointing a finger at Soara. "She did that to herself. All I did was duck." Soara laughed shrewdly. "You don't know Reese like I do." She said to him. "If you sneezed, and Shawn dropped dead from an ANEURYSM, he'd still blame you." Ratchet shrugged, and turned away. "So, what do we do?" He asked. "I won't stand around and wait for them to find Ratchet and Clank." Said Talwyn, still glaring a Soara. "For once, we can actually agree on something." Said Soara. "I say we go after them, before they pick us off."  
>"Oh, GREAT idea!" Said Talwyn, getting in Soara's face. "Just HAND them over to Echelon on a silver platter! I won't be apart of that!"<br>"No one is asking you to tag along, missy." Said Soara, getting closer to Talwyn's face, so the two were almost touching noses. "You can just go back to your fancy space station, and twiddle your fingers until we get back."  
>"WE?" Talwyn repeated. "No one ever said they were in on this little plan of yours." She backed off of Soara, and looked at Ratchet, with a "Ratchet, back me up" look on her face. "Well, I for one." Said Ratchet, clearing his throat. "Agree with Soara on this one." Talwyn looked appalled, while Soara stared at Talwyn with a wide triumphant grin on her face. Talwyn then looked at Clank for support, but saw that her had the same agreeing look as Ratchet on his face. "Ratchet? A word with you, please?" Said Talwyn in a forced calm voice. As Ratchet made to leave the group, Talwyn turned to Kronk and Zepher. "Keep an eye on that kid, will you?" She said to them so quietly, that they practically had to read her lips. "I'm not a KID!" Soara snapped, crossing her arms, who had heard what Talwyn said, even though she was standing to far away to hear her. "How does she keep doing that?!" Talwyn said to herself, walking over to join Ratchet. "Are we out of hearing range?" She asked him quietly, still glaring at Soara, who wiggled her fingers in a sarcastic hello when she saw Talwyn. "Oh, trust me." Said Ratchet. "She can hear every word we're saying. "Never mind." Said Talwyn. "Ratchet, I don't want you and Clank going off her and getting yourselves killed!"<br>"Well, that's not gonna happen." Said Ratchet. "We've been in tighter jams than just a few ticked off bounty hunters."  
>"What is Soara is still one of them?" Said Talwyn, desperately. "What if this is a trap that she has put together to deliver you to her REAL friends? Don't you understand?! I don't TRUST her!"<br>"I do." said Ratchet, speaking sweetly to Talwyn. She glared at him. "Really?" she said angrily. "Have you forgotten that she wanted to kill you herself just a few short months ago?"  
>"No, I'm not denying that. But I believe she has changed." He gently took Talwyn's hand. "And this could be her opportunity to prove herself to you." Talwyn's eyes filled with tears as she embraced Ratchet tightly. "I just don't want to lose you." She said. "Or Clank. I love you too much."<br>"You won't." Said Ratchet, hugging Talwyn back. "And that's a promise."  
>"Are you through with your sappy love-fest?" Soara asked as Ratchet and Talwyn rejoined the group. "Have we reached a verdict?" Talwyn sighed. "You know where they are?" She asked Soara. Soara nodded. "Their base is hidden in a remote corner of the Bogon Galaxy." She Said. "I Could lead them there safely."<br>"Fine then." Said Talwyn. She then got up in Soara's again, a vicious, angry look in her eyes. "But if anything, ANYTHING happens to them, I will kill you personally!" Soara gave a mock salute to the threat, smiling at Talwyn. "Aye-Aye, Captain!" She said. "And, Kronk and Zepher go with you!" Talwyn added. The smile on Soara's face vanished, and Kronk, Zepher, and Clank all chuckled quietly. "What?!" Said Soara. "Oh, come on! Not the nanny-bots! Ratchet, you can't be serious!" Ratchet shrugged. "Sounds like a fare compromise to me." He said, grinning. Soara grunted, folding her arms together like a child not getting her way. "Fine." She mumbled. "But they better not get in my way!"

Psst! Hey! don't forget to leave me a comment. I like to hear from all of you.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

This chapter contains a LOT of talking. But I think it is some VERY entertaining conversation. So just bare with me.

"Hey! Don't make me turn this ship around!" Ratchet was shouting. He and his four companions, Clank, Kronk, and Zepher, had managed to cram themselves into a single vessel. Unfortunately, Kronk, Zepher, and Soara, who were canned together in the back, had been arguing childishly ever since take-off. "Kronk! Will you get your hand off of my thigh before I break it off?!" Said Soara angrily, who was stuffed in the middle. "How about you get your tail out of my eye?!" Said Zepher, pushing Soara away from him, so she was practically laying on Kronk. "I Don't know what that is," Said Soara, trying to push herself off of Kronk. "But I don't HAVE tail! And if you don't stop touching me, I WILL SHOVE YOU INTO THE ENGINES! Why do I have to be on the hump anyway? I'm the only one who knows where Echelon's base is."  
>"Well, with the coordinates, you gave us, uploaded into the computer," Said Ratchet. "It doesn't really matter. Hey! Stop that!" He protested, as Kronk stated kicking the pilot's seat as he shifted away from Soara. "Sheesh! I suddenly feel like a father a three!"<br>"This would be good practice for you wouldn't it? Said Clank, smiling, who was sitting in passenger's seat next to Ratchet. Ratchet looked at Clank, both eyebrows raised. "Don't you and Talwyn plan on having your own-"  
>"Whoa! Clank, slow down there, pal." Ratchet interrupted. "We're taking it slowly. Kids aren't even something we've disgust."<br>"How much slower are you planning on going?" Said Clank. "It has almost been a year, has it not?"  
>"Eleven months, twelve days." Said Ratchet. "But that's not the point."<br>"Well, I know one thing for certain, Rookie." Said Kronk, pushing into the conversation. "That Miss Talwyn feels ready for the next step. She is just waiting-"  
>"No one asked for your input, yeh durn fool!" Zepher snapped at Kronk, leaning over Soara to yell at him. "It is none of our business how fast or slow they are going on their relationship."<br>"Wow. This is more entertaining then a holo-film!" Said Soara, crossing her arms behind her head. "Wish I brought some popcorn!"  
>"Okay, subject change!" Said Ratchet, shaking his head like a dog trying to dry itself. "Any of this look familiar, Soara?" Soara leaned over Zepher to look out of the window. "Looks like we're on the right track." She said surveying their surroundings. "Maintain current speed, and we should arrive at the asteroid within the hour."<br>"It's an asteroid? How original." Said ratchet, chuckling. "It's a remote asteroid." Said Soara. "No one else knows where it is, except for Echelon."  
>"And us." Ratchet added. "Which means no one will know where to look for our bodies." Zepher mumbled. Soara glared at him. "You still think this is a trap, don't you?" She said. "I trust no one who switches sides." Zepher answered. "Alright, fine! You got me!" Said Soara sarcastically. "This IS a trap! And I'm sending you straight into the execution chamber, where my pet wargrok, SCRUFFY, will devour you all one after the-"<br>"Will you three can it?!" Ratchet snapped suddenly. "The radar has detected another vessel coming our way." Soara quickly turned around to look out the rear window. She could see the silhouette of a familiar ship approaching them at high speed. "It's Reese!" She said, spinning around so fast, that her long red hair slapped Kronk in the face. "Hang on." Said Ratchet, quickly pushing a small button on the control panel of the ship. "Switching to stealth mode." He saw the wings of the ship fade away, so all that could be seen was the outline, and h knew that it had worked. Reese's ship drew closer, and was soon only a couple of miles away. "Do you think he knows that we are here?" Clank asked, watching the ship outside his window. "Nah, I don't think so, Clank." Said Ratchet, who too was watching Reese out of the window. "I think we went stealth just in time."  
>The five of them watched breathlessly as the ship drew closer, was level with theirs, then sped passed, and eventually out of sight, without any regards of the trespassers. Their was a collective sigh of relief as Reese's ship became a green dot in the distance. "That" Said Soara, who felt as if she had just swallowed a hot iron that was now caught in her throat. "Was TOO close."<br>"I don't see why we couldn't just take the young whipper-snapper out while he is ignorant of our presence." Said Kronk, sinking low into his seat. "Oh yeah." Said Soara. "Then when Reese fails to arrive on schedule, the others will KNOW something is up. when hunting, it's better to catch the whole herd off guard, than to pick them off one-by-one, and risk a stampede. "Good point, Soara." Said Ratchet, switching off the stealth mode. "I think we're approaching the base anyway." Up ahead was the large stationary asteroid that Soara had indicated. "That would be the one." Said Soara, seeing the asteroid herself. Land On the southern end over so as not to be seen, is low on security over there. Ratchet did as Soara suggested, landing on the south side on the isolated rock. As Soon as the ship had shut down and the top opened up Ratchet hopped out of the ship, followed by Clank, who hopped onto Ratchet's back. Then Zepher climbed out of one side, followed by Soara, while Kronk climbed out of the other end. Everyone stretched their limbs to prepare for the oncoming battle. "Alright. Here we go." Said Soara. "We're in Echelon territory now. That's my department, So weather you like it or not, you're going to have to follow my lead. Are we clear?"  
>"Chrystal." Said Ratchet, pulling out his omniwrench. Kronk and Zepher pulled out their own weapons, but said nothing. "Okay." Said Soara, taking a deep breath. "Let's do this before we come to our senses."<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III

Keeping close to one another Ratchet and the others quietly walked towards the entrance of the base, each with their weapons tight in their hands. Soara arrived at the front door first, and opened the control panel. "Hopefully they haven't changed the codes yet." She said, quickly typing in her old security code. "This is really risky, Soara." Said Ratchet, surveying the area as Soara worked. "There could be security protocols to you from getting in unnoticed. "They've taught me well." Said Soara without looking up. "They won't notice a thing. I'm in." The front door slid upward, revealing the entrance to the Echelon base. "After you." She gestured for the others to enter. "I don't think so!" Said Kronk, shaking his head. "Ladies first." Soara rolled her eyes. "Fine! I'm going!" She stomped inside, Ratchet following close behind. When Kronk and Zepher entered, deciding that it was safe enough to do so, the door slid back down, shutting the entrance behind them. "Wait a second." Said Ratchet, realization dawning on him as he took a deep breath. "How were we breathing out there?" Soara chuckled. "Boy, are YOU slow. Special field around the asteroid." She said. "Makes the whole rock breathable." She then pulled out her blaster, so she had her deactivated electro-sword in one hand, and her blaster in the other. "Be ready." she said. We're entering the belly of the beast." The silence was suddenly broken as and alarm started to blare, echoing down the hallway as a voice called through speakers mounted on the ceilings. "Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!"  
>"I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!" Kronk shouted over all the noise. "There must have been a problem with my security code AFTERALL!" Soara shouted, covering her ears to muffle the noise. "Oh, ya think!?" Ratchet shouted angrily, who too was covering his ears with his hands. Then, around them, the entire hall began to shake. And the ground beneath them began to split open. "HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!" Soara shouted. As the floor opened up, revealing a red-hot pit of lava below, Kronk had grabbed ahold of one of the curved light fixtures on the wall with one hand, and Zepher with the other, dropping his blaster into the fiery pit below. Soara had instinctively rammed her elbow into her gravity-pack, causing her to hover above the pit. But Ratchet was less lucky. He had to grab ahold of Soara's boot to keep from falling in, causing her to sink down several feet. The jolt a suddenly caused Clank to pop off of Ratchet's back. He gave a shout of surprise as he fell. "CLANK!" Ratchet shouted, quickly snatching Clank by the arm, which made Soara sink still further. "I gotcha, pal!" Said Ratchet. "I can't hold on like this!" Said Soara, still sinking downward. She took her sword, flipped it so the blade was facing away from her, and plummeted it into the wall in front of her, so she, Ratchet, and Clank just dangled down. "Hang in there, rookies!" Zepher shouted to Ratchet and Clank, still dangling upside down by one foot. "Don't let go, whatever you do!" "Just another minute." Soara said in a strained voice as her arms began to buckle from the added weight. "Must- not- let go!" And then, as the alarm started to fade away, still echoing around the room, the floor began to rise back up above the lava pit. Within a minute, it was level with the others, who dropped to the floor relieved. Ratchet and Soara were breathing heavily, and Soara was shaking slightly. "Is- is everyone alright?" Said Ratchet in between breaths, pushing himself and Clank to their feet. "No worries on this end, rookie." Zepher answered, pushing Kronk off from on top of him. "I just have one question." Said Soara, dusting herself off. "Is my hair still red? Because I think I saw a white streak." She then turned towards the wall, and yanked her sword out. "Should've seen that coming." She said quietly, still facing the wall. "Now I've lost us the element of surprise." She turned to look at the others. "I think we should turn back." She said. "Well, sounds good to me." Said Zepher, turning to leave. "Meecha back at the ship." But before he could take more than just a couple of steps, a voice echoed through the hall. "Welcome, Lombax!" It said. the voice sent shivers down his spine. He knew that voice. He had heard it before. Kronk scratched his head. "Okay, now I KNOW I'm going senile." He said. "Cuz now I'm hearing voices." "Y-W- we're ALL hearing voices, ye durn fool!" Said Zepher angrily. "It's Captain Telther." Said Ratchet. "He know we're here." "So glad you could find us!" Telther's voice continued to echo around. "And welcome home, Soara! We knew you wouldn't stay away forever. But you must realize that it is too late for you now! You must perish along with your Lombax friend."<br>"Listen, Telther!" Soara shouted. "I'm giving you a fair warning! Either you leave Ratchet and Clank alone, or we will kill you! Do you hear me?! We have come here to kill you before you get the chance to kill us!" Telther gave a harsh laugh. "Oh, dear child." He said. "You have made a grave error in coming here, for we have the upper-hand, as you must know. And none of you will leave hear alive!" There was a hissing sound from above. Ratchet looked up to see a wall sliding downward from the ceiling, preparing to land on top of Soara's head. He shoved her out of the way just in time. But this meant that as the wall divided the the room in half, Soara was now separated from the group. "RATCHET!" She shouted, pounding on the wall. "CLANK! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!" There was no response.  
>On the other side, Ratchet was ding the exact same thing. Bounding on the wall with the palm of his hand. "SOARA?!" He shouted desperately. "ANSWER ME!" But the other side of the wall remained silent. "Damn it!" Ratchet snapped. "Now what? Soara is the only with knowledge of the base. We're sitting ducks without her."<br>"I dunno, rookie." Said Zepher. "If she was so knowledgeable about the base, don't you think she would have warned us about the security system they have set up here?" But then there was a beeping noise from Ratchet's com-watch on his wrist. He answered it. "Soara?" He said. "You alright?"  
>"I'm fine." Soara replied through her own watch. "Just checking on all of you. Listen. If you keep down this hall, you will come the an old stair case. Go down until you reach the third floor. That's probably where Telther is hiding. I'll take the elevator and meet you there."<br>"Copy." Said Ratchet. "I'll meet you-" His voice trailed away, for the sound of dozens of footsteps approaching could be heard. Within a moment, the source of the noise could be seen. A group of the Bases security bots were racing in their direction. "GO!" Ratchet shouted to Kronk and Zepher as he threw Clank on his back. "Make for the staircase!" He followed closely behind the two robots, slicing down the security-bots that Kronk and Zepher had missed with his omniwrench.  
>The same thing was happening on Soara's end. Another group of security-bots were coming towards her at top speed. Soara sighed, activating her electo-sword. "Telther isn't going to make this easy." She said to herself, preparing to fight. "He's going to keep me from reaching that elevator at all costs. When the first bots came closer, she did a graceful spin around, slicing down three with one blow, "Good!" She said to the oncoming robots. "I'm craving a challenge!"<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV

Ratchet made it to the stairwell first, slamming his shoulder into the door to open it. He immediately noticed a gap had been blown in the staircase. "Who's idea was this anyway?!" He asked, staring at the gap. "Clank, helicopter!" Ratchet jumped the gap as Clank shot his arms and antenna into his body, and replaced them with helicopter blades. Ratchet hovered across the gap, landing gracefully on the other side. Clank then turned his chopper blades back into his arms. Kronk and Zepher followed as soon as they had taken care of the stragglers behind them. When they came to the gap, they both jumped over at the same time. Ratchet watched as Zepher landed clumsily on his feet, and Kronk dropped in front of him, flat on his face with a loud crash. "Will you quit screwing around?!" Said Ratchet annoyed, as Kronk got to his feet. "Come on." He beckoned for the others to follow. "We gotta find Soara." Three of them ran down the stairs in a line, keeping their weapons ready in case an enemy dared to attack again. "This is it!" Said Ratchet when he reached the door leading to the third level. "Let's go!" But as Ratchet opened the door, he saw a robot brute blocking his path. It growled viciously at Ratchet, brandishing a large knife in it's hand. Ratchet slammed the door in the brute's face, and grinned at Kronk and Zepher. "Wrong floor." He said to them. But the brute then smashed the door down, sending pieces of wood flying through the air. Ratchet jumped backwards so as to avoid the brutes knife as he swung it clumsily at Ratchet. Ratchet then swung his omniwrench back at the brute, smacking it in the face with a loud clang. This made the brute roar angrily at Ratchet and swing his knife again, slashing his arm that he was holding his omniwrench with. Clutching his bloody arm with free hand, Ratchet gave the brute a menacing look, before jumping at him full force, and decapitating him with a vicious swing with his wrench. The body of the brute sparked for a moment, standing still, before collapsing to the ground. "Are you alright, Ratchet?" Clank asked concerning, hopping off of Ratchet's back to see his friend. "Yeah. I'm fine, pal." Ratchet answered, breathing heavily as he whipped the blood from his arm. "It's just a scratch. Let's keep moving." The four of them stepped over the brute as they walked through the door. "That must be the elevator Soara was talking about." Said Ratchet as the elevator came into view. "But I don't see her anywhere."  
>"Perhaps she got caught up on her side." Said Clank, walking next to Ratchet. "I am sure that she will be around shortly."<br>"Yeah." Said ratchet quietly. "But I hope she hasn't gotten into too much trouble."  
>As another security-bot collapsed to the floor in pieces, Soara continued down the hallway, deliberately treading on the scraps of metal belonging to the dead robots. When she finally reached the elevator, she pushed the button to activate it. Nothing happened. "I don't have time for this!" she said angrily. She then slid her sword into the crevice between the sliding door, and pried it open. Hopping down the shaft, Soara then rammed her elbow into her gravity-pack, activating it. She allowed herself to slowly descend to the third floor, where she said she would meet Ratchet and the others. "Oh, it's not going to be that easy, traitor." Soara was startled by the sound of Telther's voice echoing through the elevator shaft. But she was more surprised by the rumbling sound over head. As she looked up, she gasped with terror as she saw the elevator dropping down at top speed. To get to the third floor faster, Soara deactivated her gravity-pack, and began to free-fall away from the elevator. She grabbed the ledge to the third floor and pulled herself up. The elevator was drawing closer. "Come on, come on, COME ON!" Soara hissed, trying to pry the door open with her sword, but it would not budge. Soara looked up to see the elevator looming ever closer. "One express elevator straight to HELL!" Telther's voice jeered. Soara, now getting desperate, pulled as hard as she could on her sword to open the door, but it still did not budge.<br>Still standing outside of the elevator, Ratchet began to pace back and forth around the others, realizing that Soara might not be coming. "Will you relax, rookie?" Said Kronk, watching Ratchet wear a hole in the floor. "You're giving ME high blood pressure just from watching YOU stress."  
>"Ah! That evil wench probably set us up!" Said Zepher grumpily. "Gave us the slip, and is just waiting for the executioners to arrive." Ratchet sighed, slowing his pacing. "Maybe you're right." He said quietly. "She's been gone too long."<br>"Or maybe she went and got herself killed." Kronk suggested. "Either way, we're running out of time." said Ratchet. We turned to go back down the hallway they had gone down. "But, Ratchet." Said, Clank, who did not follow. "Perhaps we could give her a few more-" "Look, there's no time." Ratchet interrupted. "Telther's troops could be here any-" He was cut off by Kronk, who gave a shout of terror as the blade of a sword appeared between the sliding door of the elevator, mere inches from where Kronk was standing. "That was too close for comfort!" Said Kronk, watching the blade wiggling around a little. Ratchet stared at the blade for a moment, then said, "That's Soara's electro-sword!" He dashed back to the elevator and attempted to open it with his hands. "Help me!" he urged the others, now attempting to open the door with his omniwrench. Kronk and Zepher got on either side of the elevator, and started to pull the doors. Finally, the added strength was enough to pull the doors open. Soara toppled out of the elevator shaft just as the elevator dropped right where she had been only a moment ago. "Okay." she said in a horse voice. "That would have been messy." Ratchet and Clank bent down next to her. "You alright, Soara?" Ratchet asked, putting his hand on Soara's shoulder. "Don't treat me like a baby! I'm fine!" She said angrily, getting to her feet and pushing her hair out of her face. "But, thanks." She added in a much kinder voice. "I am starting to believe that this was a bad idea." Said Clank. "Perhaps it is time we turn back." "It's too late for that, Clank." Said Ratchet. "We're in too deep." "Ratchet's right." Said Soara. "We gave Telther the chance to quit and he refused. We back down now, you and Ratchet will be hunted for the rest of your lives. However short it may be." She walked passed the others, and down the hall. "Telther's chambers are up ahead. That's where he must be." Kronk gave a whimper as the others made to follow Soara. "I want to go home,"

Just to let you know, my roommate is moving out and taking the computer with her. So just keep your eyes open in the future for more chapters when I find the opportunity. That's why this story may seem a little rushed. sorry about that.


	5. Chapter 5

Before I get started, I want to thank the two readers who have been giving me your input on my stories, it's really encouraging. You know who you are.

Chapter V

Soara was starting to feel uneasy as she, Ratchet, ant the others continued down the dark hallway. No more security-bots, no sound of Telther taunting them as they walked. "I don't like this." She said, not keeping her eyes off of the path in front of her. "I know Telther. He should've attacked by now."  
>"Ho much further is it to his chambers?" Ratchet asked Soara. "Do you not think Telther would be expecting that?" Clank asked before Soara could answer. "I'll bet he is." Soara. answered. "But he won't be able to take all five of us at once. We'll strike hard, and fast, staying in a tight formation. That was one of our tactical advantages we had."<br>"Oh, and they won't be expecting that either." Said Kronk, sarcastically. Soara flared up. "I don't see you making any suggestions!" She snapped at him. "Calm down." Said Ratchet, stopping the fight. "Fighting each other won't do us ANY good. Divided, we fall."  
>"Good point, rookie." Said Kronk, but he was still glaring at Soara. "It's this room right here." said Soara. They had come to a large door tat stood out from the rest of the rooms. Soara took a deep breath, then pushed button on the wall next to the door. It slid open, revealing a dark stretch of black on the other side. "Ladies first." Zepher said to Soara. "Naturally." Said Soara, rolling her eyes. She then slowly entered the room, holding her sword aloft. With Clank back on his back, Ratchet entered as well, followed by Kronk, then Zepher, each brandishing their own weapons. "TETLHER!" Soara shouted through the darkness. The sudden shout caused Ratchet's fur to stand on end, and his ears to stand up straight. "WE HAVE COME TO FIGHT YOU!" Ratchet gently smacked Soara on the arm. "You TRYING to give me a heart attack?" He said in a harsh whisper. "He's not here, Soara." Came another voice from in the darkness. "It's just me." A light flipped on in the room, revealing Reese in front of them. "He sent me instead." In his hand, Reese was holding the usual mace that was his preferred battle weapon. "Remember me, Lombax?" He said, addressing Ratchet. "We met for the first time on Vithlon, where you MURDERED my sister!" Soara stepped in front of Ratchet, blocking him from Reese's view. "We're not hear for you, Reese!" She said. "This doesn't have to be your fight!"<br>"Oh, but it does." Said Reese, a wild look in his eyes. "I must avenge Shawn! I swear on her grave that this Lombax must SUFFER!" He lunged at Ratchet, brandishing his mace. But Kronk had thrown himself between Reese and Ratchet, still being blocked by Soara. As Reese swung his mace, striking Kronk in the face, his head popped off and flew across the room. "Ah bullocks! Not again!" Wined Kronk's head, while his body swung his arms stupidly around, a good three feet away from Reese. Looking disgusted, Reese then smack Kronk's body with his mace, knocking it over. Appalled, Zepher then raised his blaster to Reese, preparing to fire. But Reese disarmed Zepher with a single swing of his mace, and sent him flying through the air with another. Reese once again advanced on Ratchet. But Soara determinately kept Ratchet out of Reese's reach, using herself as a shield. "Don't do this, Reese!" She shouted, clutching her deactivated electro-sword in a fighting position. Reese swung his mace down on Soara, which she blocked, he then swung the mace sideways. Soara blocked again. Seeing that Soara had her upper body wide open, Reese snatched at her, grabbing her around the neck with hand. Coughing and chocking, Soara dropped her sword, attempting to pull Reese off of her. "You betrayed me Soara!" Reese shouted. Soara's pale face started to turn red as Reese squeezed harder. "Betrayed Shawn! Betrayed Echelon! You must die too!" Ratchet lunged at Reese, smacking him hard in the side with his omniwrench. Reese dropped Soara as Ratchet struck. Soara collapsed to the ground, coughing and gasping for breath as she massaged her throat. Reese gave a roar of rage as he swung back at Ratchet, who blocked it, then swung his wrench sideways. Reese blocked with his mace, then front-kicked Ratchet in the stomach, who stumbled backwards, but wasn't disoriented. Ass Reese made to strike again, Ratchet dropped to the floor to duck, landing on his side so as not to squish Clank on his back. Ratchet then scissor-kicked Reese in the legs, causing him to topple over. Pushing himself up with his hands, Ratchet then brought his wrench down with a hammer-strike, right at Reese face. Reese rolled away just in time to evade the wrench. Before Ratchet could advance again, Reese swung his mace at him, striking Ratchet in the face. He landed a few feet away from Reese. As he bounced to the ground, Clank popped off his back. Reese smiled as he prepared to strike one last time. "NO!" Soara ran at Reese before his stroke fell, and plummeted her sword directly into Reese's chest. Reese gasped, his arms, clutching his mace suspended above his head. Still holding her sword in Reese's chest, Soara stared at Reese with a most horrifying look of anger on her face. Her violet eyes has turned a shade of red that rivaled with her hair. Baring her teeth at Reese, she then activated her electro-sword, sending sparks through Reese's body, who choked and shook where he stood. "SOARA!" Ratchet had gotten to his feet, and was pulling on Soara's arms to get her to let go. "SOARA, STOP! STOP IT." Hearing Ratchet's voice, Soara blinked rapidly, then pulled her sword out of Reese's chest, who collapsed to the ground. His eyes froze wide open, and he was motionless. Realizing what she had done, Soara dropped her sword, breathing heavily. "Oh my-" She gasped. "What have I- No." She clutched her head with her hands, breathing harder. "It's okay, Soara. It's over now." Said Ratchet kindly, putting one hand around Soara's waist. "I don't know what happened." Said Soara, speaking clearer now. "I just lost it. I didn't even know what I was doing until you stopped me." She buried her face in her hands.  
>There was a slight pause, the Clank said. "Pardon me. But perhaps we should continue this elsewhere, so as not to be caught of guard if anymore bad guys come." Soara uncovered her face. "He's right." She said to Ratchet. "Let's get the robots, and just get out of here. Forge the whole thing. Ratchet walked over and pushed Kronk's body to it's feet, while Clank grabbed the head. "Did we win there, rookies?" Kronk's head asked. "Well, sort of." Said Clank, not daring to tell him what Soara had done. "Oh, my aching joints." said Zepher, as Soara helped him up. "I'm getting too old for this nonsense." Soara put one of Zepher's arms around her shoulders, and half dragged him over to Ratchet. "This whole thing was a bad idea." She said as she, Ratchet, and Clank made to leave the room. "Maybe Talwyn was right about me. I am still just a mercenary." Ratchet, who was having a hard time keeping Kronk's body from running into everything it passed, said to her. "I don't believe that." Soara looked at him. "How could you say that after what I had done to Reese?" She said. "You have too much faith in me, Ratchet."<br>"I do too." Said Clank, walking next to Ratchet, with Kronk's head in his hands. "Y'see?" Said Ratchet, smiling at Soara. "We've seen the good you've done. You save us both many times. Everyone makes mistakes. Even me and Clank. You're still our friend, Soara." Soara smiled at him. "Thanks Ra-" There was a rumbling sound over head as the room suddenly began to shake violently. As Ratchet, Clank and Soara all looked up, they saw the ceiling begin to break apart with several loud cracking noises. "LOOK OUT!" Soara shouted, covering her head with her arms as the ceiling began to fall on top of them. Ratchet lunged at Clank, covering him with his body as rocks fell on top of him. The cave-in was over as quickly as it had happened, leaving a ringing silence. As the dust settled, all that could be seen were rocks and rubble, with Ratchet, Clank, Soara, Kronk and Zepher buried beneath.  
>"It worked." Said Telther, as he entered his demolished chambers. Behind him was his friend, and second in command, Dr Magellanic. "Good. We have them at last." Telther and Magellanic walked over to the rock pile, and started throwing rocks around. "He's over here." Said Magellanic after a few minutes of digging. Telther walked over to the place where Magellanic was digging and saw Ratchet laying motionless on top of Clank, who too was not moving. "Finally." Said Telther, stifling his excitement. "Check him." Magellanic bent down and checked Ratchet's pulse. "He still lives." Magellanic announced. Telther grinned widely. "Good. He said. "We finally have the Lombax. Now we can collect our bounty."<br>"What of the traitor?" Magelanic asked as he removed more rocks to unbury Ratchet, and reveled Soara. Soara was laying on her side, not moving. There was a deep cut on her forehead, that was dripping blood the same shade as her hair. Telther glared at her, disgusted. "She is as good as dead." He said. "The others will never make it alive. Come. We must get going." Magellanic followed Telther out of the room with Ratchet thrown over his shoulder, still unconscious.  
>Soara started to stir feebly. She gave a moan of pain as she regained her consciousness. She rubbed her head and felt blood on her hand. She made to stand up, but gasped in pain, clutching her side. She must have broken a rib. She shuddered, then surveyed the area around her. She saw Zepher laying next to her. He looked banged up and dented, but still functional. She then looked to her other side and saw Clank with Kronk's head laying next to him. Kronk's body looked just as beaten as Zepher, but was twitching slightly as he too began to wake up. But Soara noticed something missing. "Ratchet?" She said weakly. "Ratchet?" She quickly got to her feet, ignoring the pain in her ribs. She started throwing rocks as she attempted to unbury Ratchet. The lights in Clank's eyes slowly turned back on. Slowly shaking his head back and forth as if disoriented, Clank saw Soara going through the rocks. "Are you alright, Soara?" Clank asked. "He's gone." Said Soara franticly "He-he-he is defiantly not here." Clank too noticed Ratchet's absence. "Where is Ratchet?"<br>"That's what I'm TELLING you, Clank! He's not here!" Soara chucked a small rock in anger, but winced as she did so, and clutched her side. Zepher got to his feet, moaning to pain. "What's going on?" He asked. "Ratchet's gone." Clank told him. "But he would never leave us like this. He must not have left under his own steam." When Clank said this, realization dawned on Soara. "They got him." She said. "Telther has Ratchet." The added stress and blood-loss caused Soara to collapse to the floor. Clank ran over to help her. "I'm fine. I'm fine!" She said angrly, getting to her feet."  
>"What do we do now?" Zepher asked to break the nasty silence. "We can't let them get away with-"<br>"YOU aren't going to do anything." Said Soara, pointing a finger a Zepher. "You're too banged up. Clank and I will find Ratchet." Zepher glared at Soara. "Now listen here, missy!" He said. "I promised Talwyn I'd take care of Ratchet. And Look at YOU. You're no garden of flowers yourself right now."  
>"I'm the only one who has an idea of where they could be taking him." Said Soara. "You would just slow us down. You'll have to take Kronk back to the space station for repairs, and Clank and I will do it." Clank nodded. "Soara is right." He said apologetically to Zepher "But we promise." He said. "We are not coming back without Ratchet." Zepher grumbled. "Alright." He said. "But Clank, you keep an eye on her." Zepher walked over to Kronk, picked up his head with one hand, and started to drag his body with the other. Then, with one last menacing look at Soara, left the room. "So." Clank said to Soara. "Do you have a plan?" Soara wiped the blood from her forehead, then said. "Kronk and Zepher are taking the ship back to the space station, but there is a shed here with spares, we'll snatch one of those and take it to Aranos. I know someone there who may be able to help us find whoever set the bounty on Ratchet in the first place." Clank nodded. Then Soara picked Clank up, and attacked him to her own back the way Ratchet would. "I just hope Talwyn doesn't kill me when she finds out."<p>

TO BE CONTINUED...

Cliffhanger! I know. I suck. Sorry this one seemed so short, but like I said at the beginning, "It's meant to be a shorter one, leading up to something bigger." I might have to change the ratings because of that one part. Shows Soara still has a bit of a dark side in her. Well hopefully I can find a way to get part III going soon. Hope you enjoyed! PS. I know I was Spelling Kronk and Zepher wrong. But wacha gonna do? I guess tie me up and feed me to the tigers.


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